One thing so very common in my industry and many others, is the classic tale of the new business owner (coach, marketing specialist, virtual assistant, you name it) who comes on the scene, charges bargain basement rates, and then complains about how there isn’t anyone out there who will work with them.

Are you taking advantage of the popularity and marketing reach of text-based images? You know … combining motivational quotes with awesome images? Or creating images with business tips or other quotes and information?

What about promoting your blog posts across your social media platforms?

Are you the real you online? For small business owners like you and me, clicking the “buy now” button to purchase a product or service on someone’s website is most often an emotional response. Connecting with someone on social media is too. The thing is, if you’ve never met the person you’re trying to connect with or buy from in person, the emotional response that triggers the desire to purchase or connect is often fueled by their online persona.

I was thinking about branding, and was reminded of a time I went out for brunch with a couple of girlfriends one weekend. We were at sweet little European-style bistro. The décor was gorgeous. It was warm and chic and comfortable, all at the same time. There were fresh flowers on every table, real cloth napkins, even the lighting was perfect! Service … top notch. Everything about this restaurant felt like quality. We just knew the food would be good. How could it not be with such ambiance! Clearly the owner pays attention to every detail. We couldn’t wait to eat.

We are all taught it’s not all about how you look … it’s inside what counts. That’s very true when talking about people, but not necessarily the case when we’re talking about your photo on your website and social media profile picture because that’s sometimes the first, maybe even the only, place visitors will see the person behind the business. You!

I go through my Twitter notifications at least once or twice every day so I can thank people for retweeting and sharing my content. I also check out who has recently followed me to see if I want to follow them back. In this morning’s batch of followers, I noticed more than 1/2 of them are using their logos or a cartoon image in place of a real live, honest to God, photo of themselves. So I asked my followers if they were as apt to follow someone using a logo or cartoon image for their profile pic as they would be to follow someone with a photo of themselves. I also added that I wouldn’t be.

When business meets personal (where to draw the line)!

From my lips to God’s ear, if I see one more person post a photo of an abused or mistreated animal on Facebook (or any other social media platform), I am going to scream!

I understand many, many people are passionate about animal rights and other issues involving abuse; as we should be! It happens on Facebook more than anywhere else, but sharing all of those graphic, disturbing images on social media will NOT stop the abuse or sadness. All it’s going to do is make others like me feel sad and walk around with awful images in our minds that won’t go away.